Three Kingdoms and Chinese Culture

A multi-disciplinary exploration of China's first great classical novel, Three Kingdoms, and its influence on Chinese culture.This is the first book-length treatment in English of Three Kingdoms (Sanguo yanyi), often regarded as China's first great classical novel. Set in the historical period of the disunion (220-280 AD), Three Kingdoms fuses history and popular tradition to create a sweeping epic of heroism and political ambition. The essays in this volume explore the multifarious connections between Three Kingdoms and Chinese culture from a variety of disciplines, including history, literature, philosophy, art history, theater, cultural studies, and communications, demonstrating the diversity of backgrounds against which this novel can be studied.>Kimberly Besio is Associate Professor of East Asian Studies at Colby College. Constantine Tung is Associate Professor Emeritus of Chinese Language and Literature at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York and the coeditor (with Colin Mackerras) of Drama in the People's Republic of China, also published by SUNY Press.